Apparatus for operating railway-switches



(NoModeL) A. H. JOHN$ON. APPARATUS FOR OPERATING RAILWAY SWITCHES," No.408,195. Patented May 14, 188.9. A

N. PETERS, Phawlithogmplwr, Washingtom ac.

to the other of the double line.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE;

ARTHUR JOHNSON, OF JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY.

APPARATUS FOR OPERATING RAILWAY-SWITCHES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 403,195, dated May 14,1889.

Application filed July 31, 1888.

To all whom it may concern/.-

Be it known that I, ARTHUR H. JOHNSON, of Jersey City, in the county ofHudson and State of New Jersey, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Apparatus for Operating Railway-Switches, of which thefollowing is a specification, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings.

The object of my invention is to provide convenient, safe, and efficientmeans for operating two railway-switches or two sets of switches by oneworking rod or connection, more particularly for operating the twoswitches of what is known as a cross-over switch, in operating whichgreat difficulty has been experienced in adjusting the connections withsufficient accuracy and maintaining that adjustment, so that bothswitches will always close perfectly to the stockrails on both sides.

I will proceed to describe the improvement, and more especially asapplied to cross-over switches, and will afterward point out its novelfeatures in a claim.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a diagrammatic plan view representation ofa doubletrack railway and cross-over and an apparatus for operating thecross-over switches embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a diagrammaticplan view representation of a similar railway and cross-over and amodified arrangementof the apparatus embodying my improvement foroperating the switches. Fig. 3 represents a plan view of one form of anequalizing device, and Fig. at a vertical sectional view of amodification in the equalizing device.

Like letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the severalfigures.

The lines (Land at and b and I) represent the rails of a double-trackrailroad, and c and c the fixed rails of a cross-over or cross-track bywhich the cars are shifted from one track 01 and cl are the movable endsor switches of the crossover or cross-track. \Vhen the switches at and dare in the positions represented in the diagram, the movement of carsalong the main or direct lines is uninterrupted by the crossover.Whenever it is necessary to shift a train or car from one main track tothe other, the switch 61 must be drawn or forced over against the rail aand the switch (1 drawn or Serial No. 281,504. (No model.)

forced over against the rail 1) in the usua manner.

In the apparatus of my invention applied to shift or operate theswitches 01 and d, the form er being known as the near switch and thelatter as the far switch, a far-switch rod, A, is suitably connected tothe far switch d, as, for example, in Fig. 1, by connectingrods A andbell-crank e, or as, for example, in Fig. 2, by connecting-rods A and Aand bell-cranks e and c and a near-switch shifterrod, 13, substantiallyparallel with the shifterrod A, is suitably connected with the nearswitch d, either directly, as, for example, in

Fig. 2, or indirectly, as, for example, in Fig. l, by a bell-crank, f,and connectingq'od B. The ends or end portions g and h of saidshifter-rods A and B are connected with each other by a lever, O, whichmaybe a two-armed lever or lever proper, as in Fig. 3, or a toothedwheel constituting a continuous lever, the teeth of which engage withthe teeth of racks g and h, forming the ends or end portions of theshifter-rods A and B.

Between the ends g and h or end portions g and h, preferably midwaybetween said ends or portions, as in the center of the lovers, asrepresented in Figs. 3 and 4., a working or operating rod, D, ispivotally connected to said levers for operating both of saidshifterrods, and thereby shifting the switches dand d. When the rod D ismoved endwise in one direction, the switches are forced toward and closeto the rails a and b, and when the rod D is moved in the oppositedirection, the said switches are moved toward and close to the rails aand b. By the employment of the equalizing-lever C the pressure on thetwo switches is equalized, notwithstanding any difference in the springof the connections and any tendency of one to move easier than theother, for in case one switch should close first the movement of theother will be continued until the latter closes; hence it is impossiblefor either switch to check the other, and the two switches will bealways moved to predetermined limits and brought to their normalposition. When the continuous lever or toothed wheel is employed, theend portions or racks g and h and the end portion of the working-rod Dmust be provided with a suit able guide-frame, i, and the said racks orend portions may be pivotally jointed to the main portions of theshifter-rods, as is represented in Fig. 4. In the example shown in Fig.2 the working or operating rod D enters the tower E; but in the exampleshown in Fig. 1 the working-rod is operated indirectly from the tower byan intermediate rod, D, which may be connected with the rod D in anysuitable manner, as by a bell-crank, Z.

One of the two compensators in common use for counteracting orneutralizing the effects of expansion and contraction caused by changesof temperature is dispensed with. by the employment of theequalizing-lever in my improved apparatns,with which the onlycompensator necessary is one in the working or operating; rod.

\Vhat I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

The combination, with two switches adapted to be moved betweenrailway-rails, of two rods connected one to each of said switches, anequalizing-lever interposed between and connected with the said rods,and an operatin g-rod connected with said lever between the points ofconnection of the rods first named, substantially as herein described,whereby the movement of said operating-rod will cause the two switchesto be always moved to predetermined limits and both to be brought totheir normal positions, substantially as herein set forth.

ARTHUR H. JOHNSON.

\Vitnesses:

FREDK. IIAYNEs, JOHN G. PILDITCH'.

